[applause] [applause] francis, would you join us please? [inaudible conversations] >> i'll stand right here. [inaudible] i'm francis fox piven at the graduate center. it's my pleasure to welcome my long time friend and colleague, ben barber. this is his maiden talk at the graduate center, i think that we are really glad to have him. [applause] >>>i think ben mentioned that we first got to know each other some four years ago when we were asked to plan a conference, the annual conference of the american political science association, which even now -- certainly then is very austere and trickish and boring event, and we try to. it up a little bit. we had a lot of good ideas. none of which i will mention until the cameras are shut off. [laughter] and i want to say, it was adjust lot of fun to work with ben. when i told them when the ideas were it, it will improve your -- [inaudible] [laughter] so ben has a point of view about how to save the world because the world is in a kind of planet, as we know it, and our country as we know it, is in big